The New York Stock Exchange started with an upward trend for three consecutive trading days.
As major corporations' first-quarter reports are being released and new economic indicators are announced one after another, market participants are busy confirming the impact of tariff policies of the second Donald Trump administration. Investors are also focused on the president's moves in the reciprocal tariff negotiations.
On the 24th (local time), at 10:30 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded 39,827.51, up 220.94 points (0.56%) from the previous session.
The large-cap benchmark Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose by 64.69 points (1.20%) to 5,440.55, while the technology-centric Nasdaq Composite index increased by 284.75 points (1.70%) to 16,992.80.
Currently, the Dow index is more than 11% lower compared to its all-time high (45,073.63 on Dec. 4 last year), the S&P 500 index is also down more than 11% from its peak (6,144.43 on Feb. 19), and the Nasdaq index is over 15% lower than its high (20,204.58 on Dec. 16 last year), with all of them still in correction territory (down more than 10% from their peaks).
The three major indices succeeded in rising together for two consecutive trading days the previous day, as expectations grew about easing U.S.-China trade tensions and the likelihood of Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), being removed early faded.
President Trump is reportedly planning to exempt some tariffs on auto parts to support U.S. automotive corporations. The 25% universal tariff on steel and aluminum and the tariff aimed at blocking the distribution of fentanyl to China will exclude auto parts. On this day, among the Big Three auto corporations in the U.S., Ford and Stellantis started trading up more than 2%, while GM opened with a rise of about 2%.
All stocks in the large tech group 'Magnificent 7' (M7), which have been sensitive to tariffs, opened strongly together. Alphabet (Google's parent company) saw its stock price rise over 1% ahead of its scheduled earnings announcement after the market closes. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are up more than 2%, Tesla and Meta (Facebook's parent company) are increasing by over 1%, and Apple is up less than 1%.
The semiconductor manufacturing corporation Texas Instruments reported strong results, significantly surpassing market expectations for both first-quarter revenue ($4.07 billion) and earnings per share (EPS) ($1.28), resulting in a stock increase of over 6%.
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research also rose over 5% thanks to solid quarterly results. Lam Research's first-quarter revenue was $4.72 billion, and its adjusted EPS was $1.04, exceeding the market expectation ($4.65 billion and $1.01 EPS).
Subscription-based cloud service corporation ServiceNow experienced a more than 13% surge in its stock price, supported by a first-quarter performance indicating a 19% year-over-year increase in subscription revenue ($3 billion) and upward revisions of its annual guidance.
Baird investment analyst Ross Mayfield noted that it is difficult to trust the overall market uptrend, stating, 'China has made it clear that there are no ongoing negotiations.' He added, 'However, the market seems to view positively that the Trump administration wants a resolution to negotiations instead of continuing to raise tariffs.'
Betsy Hommer, president of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, said on this day regarding the possibility of an interest rate cut in May, 'I think it is too early,' adding, 'If clear and compelling data is available by June, the Fed could adjust rates.'
On this day, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of new unemployment insurance claims for the week (from the 13th to the 19th) was 222,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week, slightly exceeding the market expectation (221,000).
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the total amount of new orders for durable goods in March was $315.7 billion. This represents a 9.2% surge from the previous month, greatly exceeding market expectations (2.0% increase), marking the largest increase since July last year (9.8% increase). The increased order volume of Boeing's aircraft (192 units) compared to the previous month (13 units) significantly contributed to the surge in aircraft order volume (139% increase).
On this day, European stocks are showing mixed results in the flat zone. The pan-European index STOXX 600 is up 0.25%, the German DAX index is up 0.27%, while the British FTSE index is down 0.06%.
International oil prices are on the rise. The price of the near-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at $62.65 per barrel, up 0.61% from the previous session, while the price of Brent crude's June contract, the global benchmark, is $66.45 per barrel, rising 0.50%.